B-23 Dragon
The B-23 Dragon was a twin-engined aeroplane developed by Douglas Aircraft Company as a successor to (and a refinement of) the B-18 Bolo. The design of the B-23 was very similar to that of the Douglas DC-3. It was the first operational bomber equipped with a tail gun. It first flew on July 27, 1939
While significantly faster and better armed than the B-18, the B-23 found itself inferior to newer bombers like the B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder. For this reason, the 38 B-23s built were never used in combat. They worked in training, reconnaissance, transport (the UC-67), and test-bed rôles. One of the UC-67 is being reconverted to B-23 configuration by the USAF Museum.
Specifications (B-23 Dragon)
General Characteristics
- Crew: six
- Length: 58 ft 6 in (17.8 m)
- Wingspan: 92 ft (28 m)
- Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.6 m)
- Wing area: 993 ft² (92.3 m²)
- Empty: 19,089 lb (8,677 kg)
- Loaded: 26,500 lb (12,045 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 32,400 lb (14,727 kg)
- Powerplant: machine guns (3)
- .50-calibre machine gun (tail) (1)
- 4,000 lb (1,818 kg) of bombs
References
Related content
Related development:
Douglas DC-3 -
B-18 Bolo -
Y1B-20 -
XB-21 -
XB-22 -
B-23 -
B-24 -
B-25 -
B-26
